User Agent and Assistive Technology Support Notes

This technique is not supported well by assistive technologies. The HTML specification explains that text alternatives for applets are to be displayed when the element cannot be rendered. Therefore, text alternatives that are included in the body of applet elements may not be available to users unless the user agent either does not support or has been configured not to render applets.

IE 6 for Windows and Firefox 1.5 and Opera 9 on Windows treat alternative text for the applet element differently. IE will display the body text of the applet element and not the alt attribute. Firefox and Opera will display the alt attribute but not the body text.

Description

Provide a text alternative for an applet by using the alt attribute to label an applet
and providing the text alternative in the body of the applet element. In this technique, both mechanisms
are required due to the varying support of the alt attribute and applet body text by
user agents.

Tests

Procedure

Check that the applet element contains an alt attribute with a text alternative
for the applet

Check that the applet element contains a text alternative for the applet in the
body of the applet element

Expected Results

Checks #2 and #3 are true.

If this is a sufficient technique for a success criterion, failing this test procedure does not necessarily mean that the success criterion has not been satisfied in some other way, only that this technique has not been successfully implemented and can not be used to claim conformance.